Heritage Abbotsford Society, in partnership with the city of Abbotsford, is in the process of creating a five-year plan to restore and enhance a habitat garden at Trethewey House Heritage Site.
The Sylvia Pincott Heritage Habitat Garden was opened in 2002 and was named for local environmentalist Sylvia Pincott, founder of Abbotsford’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program and a leading advocate for the establishment of the provincial NatureScape program.
The Abbotsford Garden Club worked with the MSA Museum Society (now Heritage Abbotsford Society) to plan and install the garden to mark the club’s 50th anniversary. Once completed, the garden was placed on the provincial NatureScape program.
The society’s horticulturalist, Kelly Penner, is collaborating with the parks, recreation and culture department’s horticulture technician Sandeep Bahia and the city’s grounds crew to develop the five-year plan.
“The garden symbolizes the same spirit as my strong and wise grandmothers,” Penner said. “As a Red River Metis descendant and a certified horticulturalist having both Indigenous and scientific knowledge, I have a holistic and sustainable approach to how we develop our plan.
“It was Abbotsford’s first heritage habitat garden, designed to show the interconnectedness of flora and fauna, and today the garden is both an architectural and esthetic extension of the ongoing interpretation at the heritage site.”
The team hopes to introduce informational plaques in the near future, develop interpretive tours, and include information about the interconnectedness of bugs, blooms, and animals on their Agents of Discovery app.
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The Trethewey House Heritage Site, including the garden, is located at 2313 Ware St. within Mill Lake Park, and has been a component of Abbotsford’s Communities in Bloom judges’ visit in previous years.
The Sylvia Pincott Heritage Habitat Garden is open to the public every day.
